Being an irregular shaped site with a narrow street frontage, and having to negotiate a steep slope from front to rear as well as sandstone rock shelves, Klein posed a significant creative challenge. Located in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs with distant views to Sydney Harbour, our brief was to create a functional yet elegant family home which capitalised on the prized harbour views. The client wanted a warm, relaxed atmosphere which maximised light and provided generous space and practicality.
The project was designed as two pavilions set around a central courtyard where the spaces can freely flow from inside to outside, opening up both connected areas to eastern and northern light. To emphasise the sense of seamless spaces, we devised a palette of dark metal, timber, stone and off-form concrete, which links to the inside of the house and complements its carefully plotted interiors.
The home’s narrow entry was widened by cutting back the existing sandstone rock boulders to allow for a generous entry staircase nestled alongside the rock face; the wide cantilevered concrete treads following the shape of the rock and leading to the entry door. The house is set as closely as allowable to the western boundary, away from the neighbouring property to the east for solar gain and greater views.
The ground floor incorporates a mix of formal and informal rooms on separate levels as well as a large covered outdoor terrace beside the pool. On the first floor is a well-deserved parents’ retreat, which makes the most of the northerly aspect and views, while the children’s bedrooms are on the top floor. Outside, the existing tennis pavilion was retained as a guest house with a new level added to house a gym.
The client had a strong sense of personal style and highly developed understanding of materiality, form and space. As such, the design process was a true collaboration between client, architect and interior designer where every detail was discussed intensively, resulting in a beautifully finished home.
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MHNDU is a Sydney architectural collective dedicated to creating timeless spaces which cater to modern sensibilities. Dedicated to our craft for over twenty-five years, our ethos is unwavering: to cultivate experiential beauty in built form.
All of our projects are a physical testament to our fundamental philosophy of respecting the nuances of the architectural artform, catering to our clients’ needs for a unification of residential liveability and luxuriousness.
MHNDU represents the holistic union of principals Brian Meyerson, Kevin Ng, Liam Hancock and Tanya Awadallah. Together with their talented team, they fuse their experience, dedication to design creativity and strategic architectural visions with the ultimate goal of cultivating a legacy of quality, enduring and sustainable buildings.
MHNDU has established a strong reputation in our industry based on our unique blend of technical excellence, commercial acumen and forward-thinking design sensibility. We have cultivated a timeless portfolio of over a hundred works specialising in developments ranging from bespoke houses and small to medium size multi-residential projects to large scale urban renewal projects within the Eastern Suburbs and Greater Sydney area. Our projects are characterised by their confident, modernist statements tempered with an intimate knowledge of local climate, lifestyle and culture.
At MHNDU we understand that the development approvals process is one of the most challenging and daunting prospects for our clients. We have built our name on our ability to engage and mediate the processes involved between clients, council, neighbours and major stakeholders. We assist our clients’ assessment of their site’s development potential through feasibility and early concept design studies for a wide range of projects. We assess the potential for bonus floor space via voluntary planning agreements, affordable housing schemes and exceptions to the planning controls to increase the yield of our client’s sites.
We are proudly affiliated with interior design studio Lawless & Meyerson, experts in intentionally cultivating interior spaces which complement the architectural concept and elevate their client’s experiential sense of home. Headed by interior designer Jo Lawless, Lawless & Meyerson have collaborated with MHNDU on a range of multi award-winning projects, building on a wealth of experience and style of relaxed sophistication. From high-end bespoke homes to luxury apartments, each collaboration is treated individually and holistically from the inside out: a seamless blend of architectural expression and refined interiors.
Nominated Architect Brian Meyerson. NSW Registration No 4907. VIC Registration No 19861.